ESA critics and supporters back rival ballot measures
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A pair of dueling citizen initiatives have very different approaches on how far the state should go in imposing new restrictions on Arizona's school voucher-style program.
Why it matters: Around 100,000 students use Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) but the program has been controversial for its ballooning costs — now about $1 billion annually — and improper spending by some parents.
The big picture: If the measures get on the November ballot, it'll be voters' first chance to decide whether to limit or reform the program since the Legislature opened it to all students in 2022.
- ESAs have become a divisive partisan issue between Democrats who want major reforms and Republicans who want to preserve the program as is.
- Flashback: Voters strongly opposed universal ESA expansion in 2018.
How it works: Parents whose children don't attend public school can receive ESA funding for private school tuition, tutoring, books or other educational materials.
The intrigue: The Protect Education Act, filed by a coalition that includes public education groups Save Our Schools Arizona and the Arizona Education Association, would severely curtail the ESA program in ways that critics on the left have long demanded.
- The Arizona Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Reform and Accountability Act would enact more modest reforms.
The Protect Education Act would limit ESAs to families with household income up to $150,000, exempting students with disabilities and other groups that qualified prior to universal expansion, like students in failing schools and children of active-duty military parents.
- It would mandate that materials purchased with ESA funds be required or recommended by state-approved curriculum, and explicitly ban luxury and non-educational items.
- Families can currently save unspent funds for future use, but the act would return that money to the state.
The reform and accountability act includes many of the same expenditure restrictions and tutor background check requirements as the other measure, but has no new restrictions on eligibility.
- All purchases would be made through a new online marketplace, and parents wouldn't be able to withdraw cash or use program-issued debit cards.
- Like the other initiative, it would require students without disabilities to take state-approved assessments.
Threat level: Both proposals face time crunches — they need about 256,000 valid signatures by July 2 to qualify for the November ballot.
- The Protect Education Act campaign has registered more than 120 signature gatherers since last week.
- Campaign spokesperson Geneva Fuentes said she's confident it'll get on the ballot.
- Campaign chair Delia Lyding said they're protecting students and taxpayer dollars by "passing meaningful voucher reform" in a program she described as rife with abuse.
Representatives of the reform and accountability act did not respond to messages from Axios.
- But the pro-ESA American Federation for Children said the proposal aims to preserve ESAs and responds to voter demand for transparency.
- The group will provide funding to the campaign and is "dedicated to doing what it takes to get it to the ballot," spokesperson Brian Jodice told Axios.